


a door has two sides

by helloFROMhell (Littwink)



Series: with a thousand hands i’ll ruin you [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: First Meetings, Historical Inaccuracies, I’m tagging as I post so I don’t disappoint you all, Third Person Limited, because that’s just a meta version of slow burn, except worse since you’ll never know if it’ll be updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littwink/pseuds/helloFROMhell
Summary: “Your friends will believe in your potential, but your enemies will make you live up to it.”― Tim FargoWhen a young Tobirama visits the Daimyo's court with the Senju congregation, he discovers that the battlefield is not the only place that enemies meet.
Relationships: Senju Butsuma & Senju Tobirama
Series: with a thousand hands i’ll ruin you [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1681027
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	a door has two sides

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies, but I know absolutely NOTHING about Japanese court proceedings. So, warning for historical inaccuracies and cultural blunders. It’s not really the main point of course, but I do feel like it leads it to lose something… not my proudest work. Apologies if it offends anyone.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title is a Japanese idiom that means: don’t let others see your pain.
> 
> Not that I used the best source... but yep, that’s basically the chapter. Expect more dubiously sourced idioms in the future...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, but I know absolutely NOTHING about Japanese court proceedings. Or Japanese culture at all. So, warning for historical inaccuracies and cultural blunders. It’s not really the main point of course, but I do feel like it leads it to lose something… not my proudest work. Apologies if it offends anyone.

The first time Tobirama faced the Uchiha was not on the battlefield as most would think, but at a table. 

It was determined that Hashirama would be, for varying reasons, unsuited for an appearance at court. Whether the Elders were swayed by Hashirama’s temperament or the need to keep his bloodline gift in wraps are debatable, as Anjia would flee from any of his lessons on diplomacy and other scholarly fields as soon as his tutors would turn away. The only redeeming quality of his disposition was that he would work at bettering his skills in the shinobi arts and the Mokuton instead. Hence, he had managed to successfully avoid having to deal with court, though he must eventually learn at least diplomacy as clan heir. Hashirama is naturally charismatic though, so perhaps he will manage to get away with learning at his own pace. His bullheadedness would only aid this pursuit, considering that he had the power to back it.

Tobirama, on the other hand, faced the opposite issue. He had taken to these lessons as a duck to water and even though his social skills are subpar, he otherwise was growing to become the perfect scholar. He would mainly stand behind his father or his second as they dealt with the negotiations (read: threatening or charming the clan’s clients and partners) and would report afterwards on his thoughts. Tobirama has also been gaining more responsibilities with helping maintain the clan, such as running the numbers for the clan’s yarn stock and sitting in on more strategic planning. Overall, he was working with the Elders to deepen his knowledge in as many fields as possible as both a diplomat and scholar to support Hashirama, who would mainly focus on military tactics and shinobi pursuits.

This is not to say that his skills as a shinobi were set aside, of course. His Sensor ability and combat skills were steadily improving alongside his ever increasing knowledge. In his newly turned seventh year, this was a fairly impressive set of skills. But this was not enough for him; his skills were basic for his own station as current fourth to the clan. Tobirama’s duty was to be a foil to Hashirama, the clan heir, and he must be as competent at this as possible before he starts to be challenged for his position as the clan heir’s main confidant. He wouldn’t have had to worry about his delicate position at such an age if not for Anija’s unique position as not only clan heir, but the only active holder of the Senju bloodline for several generations. But his ability to meet the current needs of Hashirama has allowed him to be left alone by those who would risk much for a rise in social standing, especially when Hashirama’s Mokuton gift was seen as a message from their ancestors of the Senju’s impending victory over their blood foes, the Uchiha.

The Uchiha. 

The Uchiha were ghouls according to the older Senju, who would spit at even the slightest mention of them. They were the butt of most of the warrior’s jokes and the curse at the tip of everyone’s tongue. 

The Uchiha were a clan to be wary of according to the Senju’s allies and clients. They would sometimes be attacked unprovoked by the Uchiha, which only inflamed the Senju Clan’s hatred of the warmongering beasts.

The Uchiha were shinobi according to the civilians that he managed to overhear during missions, with an undertone of a condemnation, though Tobirama himself could only slightly comprehend the disgust associated with being a shinobi rather than a Uchiha.

And to Hashirama, the heir to this blood feud? 

The Uchiha were human according to his Anija, and he would never admit more than that publicly.

But what did Tobirama think of the Uchiha? 

The Uchiha elegantly ate with the rest of the table as the Daimyo took the time to individually remind each clan of his superiority over them. They had been placed at a higher seat of the table, but overall this seemed to be more of a punishment than an honor, if Tobirama had read the room correctly. Having the Dayimo’s interest did seem to be more of a hassle than anything else...

Anyhow, Tobirama was glad that the Senju weren’t required to meet with the Daimyo more privately. The pandering that the clan heads fell to unimpressed him, to say the least. He could hardly imagine why they were falling to such lows, but surely the masks of passive-aggressive friendliness were unnecessary—the aura of the room was completely stifling to him.

Tobirama has, however, begun to recognize that most humans were illogical, emotional creatures, and that sometimes reason was not the fastest way to get a point across. Hashirama being a key example. Still, the insincerity, especially from what was meant to be the strongest men in the nation, annoyed him. Surely the Daimyo did not contain as much power as all of the shinobi clans put together? It was them who protected and killed, after all, when the lords slept soundly in their beds. But Tobirama knew better to voice this when he was in the capitol, especially in the vicinity of the Daimyo himself. Even if the Daimyo’s own disgust of them was clear with every movement.

Tobirama supposed that, in the end, all shinobi were the same in the eyes of civilians, whether they were a farmer or the daimyo himself.


End file.
